Brightline parent to build residences near two of its South Florida train stations

Erecting residences near its Brightline train stations in South Florida may be one way to ensure a natural pipeline of riders for the new express passenger railway service scheduled to launch later this year.

On Thursday, Brightline parent Florida East Coast Industries, announced plans for multifamily residential properties near two of its South Florida stations, citing the venture as a key component of its transit-oriented developments in South Florida.

The new residential brand Park-Line will debut in 2018 with a 290-unit tower in downtown West Palm Beach, Coral Gables-based FECI said in a news release. That will be followed by 816 units in two towers within its 11-acre mixed-use MiamiCentral development in downtown Miami.

“Park-Line residences are designed for people on the move who want to live and travel smarter,” said Daniel Quintana, FECI’s vice president of development. “Each of the innovative towers in West Palm Beach and Miami will expand residents’ playground and working options by utilizing a vast variety of transit options just steps away from their front door, including our new Brightline train service that will seamlessly connect Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.”

Park-Line Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach will feature studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments for lease. Park-Line Miami will offer on-site studios, as well as one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, FECI said.

Both residential properties will offer a range of amenities including a yoga lawn and fitness center with juice bar, private cabanas, shaded dog parks and pet grooming salon. There will also be an event lawn with movie screen.

At MiamiCentral, residents will find 180,000-square feet of retail space including a food hall called Central Fare, and 300,000 square feet of office space. That residential-office mix is aiming to offer “a live, work and play lifestyle,” FECI said.

Chuck Shallat, an executive vice president of Lincoln Property, said the company “is always seeking opportunities to raise the bar on multi-family living residences and this collaboration with Brightline is a glimpse into the future.”

Brightline’s express intercity train service, slated to launch this fall, will initially operate among the three South Florida stations before extending to Orlando in a later phase.

While FECI didn’t announce any residential projects for its Fort Lauderdale train station, an apartment tower is in the planning stages for land adjacent to its parking garage, and could be built in the future if there’s sufficient market demand, Brightline CEO Dave Howard told the Sun Sentinel in late June.

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